Airline customers frustrated by ‘day of travel’ experience according to MTT research

Mobile Travel Technologies Ltd. (MTT), the leading mobile travel technology provider, today revealed the results of its latest study which examined ‘day of travel’ frustrations - what causes the most stress for travellers as they prepare for their flight, get to the airport, go through airport procedures and navigate airport terminals. The output of this research has led MTT to building a mobile product to improve travellers’ experiences. The MTT study included an online survey, one-on-one interviews with travellers and airport observation.

Getting to the airport on time, making it through check-in, bag drop, security and then reaching their gates on time are constant for travellers. This is worsened by any delays and cancellations and the lack of clear and up-to-date information. Lost baggage and making flight connections are also major areas of concern. Half of our survey respondents said that finding out what to do if bags are lost is either “difficult” or “fairly difficult”. Over 60% find it difficult to find the right information when making flight connections.In MTT’s airport observations, over 25% of travellers who did check-in online in advance and had boarding passes still queued to speak to customer service representatives, to ask if they needed to check-in again at the airport. Many unknowingly stood in the wrong queue only to be directed to another queue in the same terminal and almost 50% of questions to ground staff were for airport directions – where to go for check-in, bag drop and so on.
When the survey respondents were asked (without prompting) what are the most important mobile services the airlines could provide on their day of travel to improve the travel experience, responses included traffic updates en route to the airport, live flight status, information on check-in and gate location, length of security queues, accurate flight disruption information, where bags are and flight connection details.
When travellers were asked if they thought they would take more trips if the airport and air travel experience were to be improved, 67% said yes. And almost all travellers (93%) said they want mobile updates regarding important ‘day of travel’ information during their trips.
Commenting on their research findings, Gerry Samuels, CEO of MTT said “Today’s travellers are not getting the level of service they need and deserve on their day of travel. In times of disruption for example, a lack of information causes more distress than bad news. Once travellers know exactly what is going on, they are more accepting of the delay and can plan around it”. He continues: “MTT’s new product, Concierge Live, has been designed to transform how airlines service customers on their day of travel. This product has been built to ensure a smooth and efficient traveller experience at every stage of the journey.”
MTT Concierge Live combines live data sources including live flight status, baggage tracking and queue wait times with the traveller’s itinerary and leverages airport indoor mapping and geo-location technology to deliver contextual, timely mobile guidance via an airline’s existing app. MTT Concierge Live ensures a contextual, guided experience from the moment the traveller begins to prepare for their flight to when they land at their destination, collect their bags and look for transport options at their destination.